The Shockers beat Creighton and Virginia Commonwealth in the regular season and both La Salle and Pittsburgh in the tournament. But their most memorable win to date remains a 76-70 defeat of top-seeded Gonzaga.

Wichita earned that victory in atypical fashion: Plenty of 3-pointers despite a shaky rebounding day. The Shockers got back to their usual formula on Thursday, hammering La Salle on the glass and turning to the outside shot as only a change of pace (5 of 12 from 3-point range) while rolling to a 72-58 victory.

Team strength: Rebounding

Carl Hall is the best of the bunch at collecting caroms for the Shockers over the course of the season, but he isn't alone in doing work on the glass.

In Thursday's victory, six Wichita State players had at least four rebounds. Reserve Ehimen Orukpe had nine boards in just eight minutes of work.

The Shockers took full advantage of the size differential against La Salle, but will have a tougher time against second-seeded Ohio State in Saturday's regional final. But that doesn't mean Wichita can't be successful; in fact, it's the Shockers' steady presence on the glass that provides as much reason as anything to believe the Missouri Valley could yet have a representative in the Final Four.

Team weakness: Absence of an explosive scorer

Wichita has done just fine without a player who is good for a 25-point night every few weeks, so this really isn't much of a weakness.

It certainly didn't matter against La Salle, which got 35 points from its three stellar guards â?¦ on 10 of 37 shooting. If there isn't a ridiculous individual performance to match and just about everyone in the rotation is playing well, a potent scorer is more a luxury than a necessity.

The balanced Shockers might need someone to match the work of Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas in the regional final. Most likely, Wichita will spend more of its energy trying to contain Thomas rather than trade baskets with the Buckeye big.

Names to know: Forward Cleanthony Early averages a team-high 13.7 points, but had a quiet regional semifinal (eight points against La Salle). Carl Hall more than made up for it with a 16-point, eight-rebound outing against the Explorers.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Armstead had a team-high 18 points and had just two turnovers in 29 minutes on Thursday. If he can brush aside the attempts at disruption from Ohio State guard Aaron Craft that are definitely on the horizon, Wichita will have a chance to win yet again.

Shocker snippet: Wichita State is appearing in its fourth regional final. The Shockers lost to Kansas State in 1964, beat Oklahoma State in 1965 and fell to Louisiana State in 1981.

In addition, Wichita State will participate in the first pairing of specific seeds for the second straight game. Wichita State-La Salle was the first 9/13 game in tournament history, and Ohio State-Wichita State will be the first matchup between a No. 2 seed and a No. 9 seed .